The sanctuary has been looking for larger premises. Delfzijl has been chosen as the local Council is prepared to invest two million euro in the sanctuary, money which it needs if it is to be eligible for a subsidy of 13 million euro from the Wadden Fund.

The new sanctuary will be built by the Eemshotel in Delfzijl, right on the coast of the Wadden Sea. It will include an educational centre, as well as facilities for research and courses. The building will probably be ready by 2010. A spokesman for the Delfzijl Council said they expect the new sanctuary to bring in 150,000 visitors a year.

The recent storm blew thousands of seabirds off course and on to the Dutch mainland. In the Hague bird shelter De Wulp, they are now playing host to a puzzled puffin. Puffins are normally found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic, so this is a rare visitor to these shores. When this one has recovered its strength, it will be released back into the wild.

A rare South China tiger has been seen in the wild for the first time in decades, according to reports from China's official Xinhua news agency.

The sighting, which came after a farmer handed in some pictures, surprised researchers who feared the tiger was extinct. Experts have now confirmed that the photographs do show a young, wild South China tiger.

The tiger is critically endangered and was last sighted in the wild in 1964.

"A winner has been chosen! Over 23,000 of you voted for the animal you wanted to win. You narrowed a field of 40 animals to one, and we're pleased to announce that the winner of WWF's World's Cutest Animal Contest is the panda!"

"A giraffe that strayed into a township close to Zimbabwe's capital has been rescued after residents tried to kill it for its meat, local media reported. The animal was put under police guard before wildlife officers removed it."